Kitty Pi

It's a Kitty Pi! Nothing too exciting but this was a nice quick knit on gigantic size 13 needles. I used the Noro Big Kureyon in color #12 that Wendy used in here pattern. This sides are actually a lot more floppy than they appear in the pic where Simon is checking it out. The kitties seem to like it okay. They don't love it but if it's in one of their normal spots they'll lay on it. It's been done for several days now but I haven't been able to get a pic of them laying in it yet.

Here it is before I felted.









Look what I have fallen in love with!! I saw this magazine in the LYS today and had to buy it for just that pattern. I've been looking for a rectangular shawl/stole type thing to use the 3 skeins of Shimmer for. But now that I saw this pattern I really like how it looks in a solid color. The lady at the LYS has started this and gave me a few tips. I can't wait to start this one but I'm going to wait til I finish Orangina.....only ONE lace project at a time! This will definitely not be "TV knitting" material.




And I leave you with a spectacular picture of Simon.

Projects, projects, and more projects!

Ok, so I went on a little Knit Picks yarn spree. In my defence, I have a project in mind for all of them. Okay, and the shipping was free. The Shine sport in Orchid is for the Ballet Camisole, some blue Essential sock yarn for socks....let me tell you how soft this stuff is! I was really surprised! Also got some Shimmer in Maple Leaf for a stole or shawl, Shine worsted in Cream for a shrug, and the Sierra in Cranberry for a purse maybe. They ship so quickly too! You just can't beat Knit Picks!



I'm making progress on my green Orangina but not without some tinking ever so often to keep me on my toes!! :( You see my mistake in the pic? well, I had to tink back 4 rows to fix it. And just before I discovered this mistake I had just finished unknitting 4 or 5 rows fixing a mistake on the other panel (I'm knitting both panels on circs from two balls of yarn at the same time). That's what I get for trying to knit this while watching exciting Tour de France mountain stages. I have almost 7 inches done on both front and back panels.

Oh and I've found a sweater I really want to make for winter(maybe in a few months after it starts cooling down a bit). It's Forecast and I want to make it will Peace Fleece in Ancient Fern. I first saw it when I was browsing blogs and came across the one that the gal over at So Much Yarn, So Little Time made! Her's turned out so beautifully! Anyway, I keep telling my self, "One thing at a time!!"....yeah right!

There's a first for everything

Well, here it is. My first wearable sock. And talk about some funky pooling!!! Maybe it's the superwash factor or maybe my skin is sensitive but these really aren't the softest things in the world....althought they are quite WARM. This yarn is much thicker than traditional sock weight yarn and I chose it on purpose for my first socks so they wouldn't take forever. I forgot to check my guage but it says on the lable: 6 - 7 sts per inch on #5 or #6 needles.

Yarn: Hill Country Instant Gratification Sock Yarn superwash in Chocolate Covered Cherries (actually, I think something along the lines of "Neopolitan Swirl" would've been a little more appropriate)

Pattern: used the basic sock pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks knit on double pointed bamboo size #5 needls

And I can understand better now how the whole "second sock syndrome" thing works now. I think to keep it interesting and to keep learning more I will try to make the second one toe-up. I desprately want to learn the 2 socks on 2 circs but I tried that about a month ago and let's just say I think I should get the basics down first before I try more advanced methods.....but that's just me....always trying to skip right to the dessert!

And look at my kitty. See that black bag he's laying on? I keep my knitting in there because it zips up and is protected from evil little kitties who would otherwise love to eat it and shred all my hard work! Anyway, Simon here, he LOVES that bag. And not just because the knitting is in it. I think maybe it has some weird smell on it or something but he just rubs all over it and purrs and tries to get in it like it's a magic capret bag. And let me tell you, it would have to be a magic carpet bag for him to fit his giant belly in it.

Dream Swatch.....belt!

Now this really was a quicky!

Free Pattern: Dream Swatch by Wendy Bernard at The Garter Belt

Yarn: Knit One Crochet Two "Wick" 53%Soy 47% polypropylene, 1 ball

The yarn was kinda weird but I really like the colors. It was also a little thicker than what the pattern called for but I just decreased the number of stitches by 6 to get it to the width I wanted. And boy, did this yarn bleed onto my bamboo needles!!

And yes, this is my second post today.....it's just that I have so little time during the week. You know the drill.....get home from work, knit, make dinner, knit, watch the Tour de France, knit, go to bed. Priorities, people!

Green Gable

Pattern: Green Gable by Rachel Iverson and Sarah Johnson at Zephyr Style

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Cotton Fleece in Candy Apple....used 2 1/4 skeins

Mods: followed suit with everyone else on the GG knit-along by adding 2 sets of waist increases (which turned out really nice!) and added about 2 inches in length (VERY glad I did that otherwise I would've had a cropped-top!).


All in all a very nice pattern!! The result is such a wearable garmet! I actually finished it last weekend but just got to weaving in ends and blocking this weekend. I'm very excited to wear it to work on Monday. Actually, I'm wearing it right now and it's not nearly as soft as I thought it would be....a little itchy even! I think this would be a cool pattern to knit with hemp because I've heard that stuff gets really soft!

Also, the new Summer Knitty is finally here! I was a little surprised at the content....I guess I was expecting more summery things. But there are a few patterns I really like. I definitely want to make theses:
Fetching
Perdita

And these I think are really fun but don't know if I'll make them anytime soon (mainly because I haven't graduated to sock-making yet):
Reptilian Lace
Lickety Split (I've always wanted socks I could wear with my flip flops....just around the house of course! LOL!)

Fad-Classic done!

Well, here it is. All finished! It's actually been finished for over a week now but I've been too lazy to take pictures. I'm very happy with how it turned out and I actually wore it last night when hubby and I went bowling.

Pattern: Fad-Classic by Wendy Bernard at Knit and Tonic and also at The Garter Belt.
Yarn: Almost 5 skeins of Tahki Cotton Classic in Violet (#3912).
Mods: Knitting top down completely in the round is very cool! But I had the worst time figuring out the gauge for this pattern. I ended up going up two needles sizes. The stitch pattern is very stretchy too and that added to my confusion. Anyway, it started out very nice but by the time I joined the straps in the round around the bust I started panicking and thought it might be a little too big. I wanted it to be fitted so I added a few decreases right under the armpits. Now that I look back on it I think that was probably unnecessary but oh well. I added a little more than an inch to the length which was a little risky because I literally only have a few yards left. It was definitely a nail-biter!


So here is my next project. Orangina. I wasn't originally drawn to this pattern but I kept seeing everyone else's in blogland and how beautiful they turned out. So I got some Jaeger Sienna 100% mercerized cotton in Sapling green....I'm breaking out of my pinks/purples/reds groove that I normally go for.

However, I've come back to the gauge issue again. You know, before I began knitting seriously and back in the day when I only knitted hats and scarves...I didn't give a hoot about gauge. I mean, what a lot of work that was! I just wanted to get straight to the project. But now.... now I'm obsessed with getting gauge. I think I knit about 5 swatches for Fad-Classic! It's not so hard when you're just measuring stocking stitch but it's a whole different ball game with stitch patterns. Stitch patterns just seem to be more out of shape and stretchy. If you stretch it one way you get gauge but if you stretch it the other way....totally off! I do know that I'm a somewhat tight knitter and usually go up a needle size or two but with Orangina I think I'm going to stick with the recommended size.

Not exactly what I expected

I've knit a child's purse!!!! That was my first impression when I pulled it out of the washer anyway. It's tiny!!! It looks dinky! It actually looks a lot bigger in the picture than it does in real life. I mean, I like small purses and all but I guess I was expecting something a little bigger. I think I'm starting to get used to it though.

Pattern: Sophie by Julie Anderson from MAG Knits
Yarn: Less than 1 skein of Cascade 220

I really like how the Cascade 220 felts....not too fuzzy!








UPDATE: Here's a picture of it all finished. The button does add a lot to it.